Finding Some More Kitchen Space

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In many cases, existing kitchens are just too small for any real improvement in space management. Of course, you can add space by building an addition. Although appropriate in some cases, additions are always costly and not always feasible. For that reason, it pays to consider the less expensive alternatives. What you don't spend on structure, after all, you can invest in better cabinets, lights, counters, fixtures, flooring and appliances.

Adding a Bump-Out

Bumping out a kitchen as little as two feet can make a world of difference. One option is to bump out an exterior wall by 24 in. Not all houses suit this option - for one thing all the floor joists must run the right way. In this scenario, a section of the existing wall is cut out and replaced by a laminated header to support the roof. The old floor is then cantilevered outward and new exterior walls are built along the perimeter of the new floor. The whole extension is covered with a small roof and you have a lot of extra space without paying for a foundation. Assuming a 24in. bump-out, the new space could hold a bank of cabinets and appliances, giving you 2 ft. of wiggle room in front of them. While it's impossible to fix an exact price, $3500 to $5500 might do it, which is one-third the cost of a modest room addition.

Borrowing from Other Rooms

In other cases, the wall enclosing a small breakfast nook can be removed, extending the length of the kitchen. A breakfast bar over a peninsula cabinetwould occupy much less space, and might work even better with today's dine-and-dash eating habits.

However, when it comes to creating open space, nothing can compete with removing a wall between your kitchen and another, little-used room. A formal dining room, adjacent mudroom or enclosed porch are prime candidates. While the results of this choice are dramatic, the cost can be pretty low, often as little as a few hundred dollars. But it pays to consider an experienced contractor for this work. Interior walls can be structural, that is, intended to hold up the roof and any upper floors. If removed, these walls have to be replaced with engineered beams. Even non-structural ("partition") walls may conceal plumbing, heating and electrical equipment that must be moved and can easily prove to be a bigger challenge than you want to take on.

Other possibilities include using the space under the stairs adjacent to your kitchen for pantry storage; realigning doorways for better traffic flow and more usable space; and relocating windows that intrude into cabinet space, even replacing windows with skylights.

If there just is not enough floor space for easy movement around the kitchen, one bank of cabinets can be made narrower than normal to increase walking space. If the issue is plenty of floor space, but not enough countertop, countertops can be made deeper than the normal 24" — up to the 30" practical limit. This results in a surprising increase in usable counter space.

Creating an Illusion of Space

If you simply have no way of getting more space, you can manipulate the available space to make it seem larger. Using a light color palette helps the room seem larger. Lighter wood cabinets and pale countertops and floors contribute to the effect.

Manipulating the room's lighting can make it seem much larger. Open up the room to the outdoors and let the sunshine in. Replace small windows with larger ones and eliminate heavy window treatments (use glass block or frosted glass, if necessary, for privacy). Install a skylight. Use artificial lighting to eliminate shadows and accent lighting to give your kitchen more visual depth without actually making it larger.

Sometimes merely cutting an opening in the top half of the wall that separates a kitchen and living or dining room will help. At the very least, it will allow the cook to feel less confined. Anyone who has ever thrown a party knows that cooking can be a spectator sport, so open it up and invite them in.

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